Sam Mitchell
Toronto RaptorsShow of hands how many thought the Raptors would make the playoffs at the start of
the season? Ok not many of you how many thought they win a division title? Anyone?
Well they did both and that's why Mitchell deserves to win the Red Auerbach
trophy, what he has done in Toronto the last two years is miraculous the Raptors
did not win the Atlantic because its a bad division they won because they
are a good team, and Mitchell should be given the credit for the young team's turnaround.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER

6th MAN AWARD

Brandon Roy
Portland TrailblazersThe initials of Rookie of the year is R.O.Y., and in a year where no one jumps off
the page at you the player whose last name is Roy will take the honors. On a
young Blazers team Brandon Roy is already a go to shooter at the end of games as
his 16.8 ppg ranked second on the team. While sore knees limited him to just
57 games when he was in there he was often the best player on the court. If Roy
manages to avoid further knee troubles he should be one of the top players in
Portland for many years to come.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

DEFENSIVE PLAYER
OF THE YEAR

Bruce Bowen
San Antonio Spurs
Some have called him the dirtiest player in the league, but that often is the
label for a defensive monster and that is why after years of finishing second
to Ben Wallace, Bruce Bowen finally will get recognition as the league's best
Defensive Player. Despite spending all season second to the Mavericks the Spurs
quietly lay in the weeds as a dangerous team in the playoffs with the third best
record overall at 58-24, and what was behind that success defense, as the Spurs
enter the playoffs as the top defensive unit.

NBA MVP

Dirk Nowitzki
Dallas MavericksWhen they played together in Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash were the best
friends, now they are battling for the NBA MVP as their teams the Suns and
Mavericks were the top two all season. While Nash has won two in a row and could
certainly claim a third, the Mavericks success led all season by the play of
Nowitzki can not be ignored, as his consistent deadly shooting have taken the
Mavericks to a 67-15 season. No matter where he shoots Dirk is deadly as he is
49.9% from the floor, and 41.2% from downtown, while shooting 90.2% from the line.

Monta Ellis
Golden State Warriors
Drafted number 40 in the 2005 NBA Draft Monta Ellis was one of those players
nobody gave much thought about as he begun his second season this year. However,
with his Warriors in the playoffs for the first time in 14 years Ellis could
be on the verge of making a big name for himself as the Warriors attempt to go
pull off one of the greatest upsets in NBA history. Ellis who increased his points
per game by nearly 10 points at 16.5 he is a clutch shooter and one of the
players the Mavericks must stop not bad for a player who last year ended his
rookie season with 6.8 ppg.

Leandro Barbosa
Phoenix Suns
With the return of Amare Stoudamire the Suns now have one of the deeper teams
in the league as their 61-21 record was one of the best in the NBA. On that
bench the best player was Leandro Barbosa who somehow made the Suns high octane
offense fly at even a faster level as he averaged 18.1 ppg despite making just
18 starts. Nicknamed the Brazilan blur Barbosa is the perfect compliment to the
steady consistency of two-time MVP Steve Nash and a main reason why the Suns
are a team to beat.